


We Found Wonderland

by Coriraptor, GonzoSloth



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, F/F, Language, Minor Violence, Romance, Slow Build, Some Fluff, Some angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:52:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4004842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coriraptor/pseuds/Coriraptor, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GonzoSloth/pseuds/GonzoSloth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke, Octavia, Bellamy, and Raven all go to the carnival where they meet and befriend a few of the carnies that work there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Octavia's Game

Clarke was walking to her apartment building from her car when she hear her phone chime. Recognizing the personal ringtone, she mentally prepared herself for the conversation she was about to have with her friend. She clicked the green answer button and brought the phone to her ear with one hand and pushed the door open with the other. She lived in a big apartment building in the heart of the city thanks to her mother. It was nice because it was on the highest floor and because all her friends lived on the edge of the city so they hardly came in to visit her. She enjoyed the solitude. 

"Hello?", the blonde sighed into the phone. 

"Hey, Clarke! Just calling to remind- oh wait. You answered. Sorry, thought it was gonna go to voicemail. I'm just not used to you actually answering the phone. Or responding to my texts. Or Raven's. Or Bell's. Or-" 

"Alright, Octavia, I get the point." Clarke sighed; she wasn't really in the mood to talk to Octavia but she figured she had ignored her friend's calls and texts long enough. "Sorry about not getting back to you guys. I just wanted to be by myself for a while. Is that a crime?" She pushed the button on the elevator and rode her way up. 

"Yes.", the other girl replied quickly. "Yes it is. A big one. Ignoring a shit ton of messages about your best friend's birthday is a very major crime. You're lucky I don't call the police on you." 

"If it meant that I could be alone, then be my guest." 

Clarke walked down the hall to her front door. The front door had an elaborate carving of a Griffin and a golden doorknob. She had always thought the carving was a bit much but her mom had it installed before she moved in so there wasn't much she could do now except order another door. But that seemed liked a lot of work so she just kept it. The blonde opened and closed the door behind her, tossed her keys in a little dish that sat on top of a desk near the door, and made her way to recline on her couch. She lived in a giant penthouse on the top floor of an apartment building. One of the walls was all made of giant window panes that allowed her to overlook the city skyline and allowed natural light into the giant open room. The room was bright, the lights reflecting off the glass coffee table. The only walls interrupting her gaze over the room led to the bathroom to her right and her closet across the studio room. 

"That would work out perfectly. That way you can't escape the party. It will be a little downer having to celebrate my 22nd birthday in a jail cell but I'm sure we will make it work just fine. You can paint me a picture on your walls. You're hot enough so you could easily flirt with a guard and get him to sneak you drawing supplies." 

"Or I could just buy them at the store or whatever." 

"They have those?" 

"Yeah, I believe so, O. Don’t you watch Orange is the New Black? That prison has a store where you can buy things." 

"Huh. I guess that makes sense. I wonder what-- wait, what am I talking about? You're distracting me." 

"Good catch there, Sherlock." 

"Shut up. Listen. Bells, Raven, and I are all going out to The Cull for some drinks for some pre-birthday celebrations tonight. You're coming along." 

Clarke caught herself chewing on her fingernails as she talked to Octavia. She pulled her hand down and sat on it, hoping that it would prevent her from biting them. It was a horrible habit and she was trying to get herself to quit. Remembering her shoes, she quickly unties the laces and throws them to her door hoping the white carpet didn't get too dirty. Her mom would never let her hear the end of it if she saw her carpet was dirty. 

"I have to finish a few pieces to sell this weekend, also my turtle needs watering." Clarke could feel the sigh Octavia heaved through the phone, but she kept her excuse, "Seriously, I almost have enough money to buy my own car." 

"Really?? You are going to ditch on my pre-birthday shenanigans to draw an old person?" 

"It's not on old person.... it’s an old dog." 

"Well, I don't accept that. Raven and I are coming to get you." 

"No! Fine, just let me get dressed." 

"Didn't you just get home?" 

"Do you want me to come out in a charcoal stained T-shirt?" 

"Right, then just try not to be late." Clarke could hear Octavia's smile through the phone. 

Clarke rolls her eyes as she hangs up. She's never been late in her life. She crosses the long room to her closet, taking out the red tunic top her mom had just sent her and some skinny leather pants and grabbed a little gold belt to loop around the top. She quickly showers, dresses, and pulls her boots from under the bed and puts them on. Silently, she curses her mother for choosing this long apartment the bathroom on the opposite side of the room than her bed and closet. However, having her own apartment away from everyone is just what she needed and her mother was generous enough to support her. Checking her hair one last time in the mirror above the key bowl, she flips the lights out and heads out the door. 

********************************************************************************************************************************** 

As Clarke walked through the doors of The Cull it became extremely hard to breathe. The room was packed with people shoulder to shoulder grinding against each other. She spots Raven and Bellamy at the bar, so she makes a beeline for them. 

"Hey guys," Clarke says with a small wave. She really didn’t know what to say to them. It's been a few weeks since she last saw these two in person. 

Raven and Bellamy turn around in sync and smile almost immediately at the sight of the blonde. 

"Hey, Princess!" Bellamy said with a smirky grin. Raven wrapped her arms around Clarke's neck and screamed "Clarke!" 

"Thanks, Raven. I didn't need that ear anymore." 

"No problem, Clarkey. Glad I could help." Raven pulled back and smiled widely, holding Clarke at arms length. Raven gave Clarke a once over and nodded her head in approval. "It's good to see you," she said sincerely. 

"Thanks, Rave. It's good to see you too. You as well, Bellamy." 

Bellamy nodded his head. 

Then came the part the Clarke had feared: awkward silence. 

Clarke kept switching between looking at Raven and then Bellamy and then back at Raven. All three of them were smiling at each other but Clarke began to feel the smile become more and more forced. 

'Oh my god, Clarke. Say something... Anything!'

Raven interrupted her thoughts, "So how have you been enjoying the city life?" 

"Oh, it's great." 'Lie.' "Been keeping real busy and stuff." 'More lies.' Clarke felt bad for lying to her friends, she really did. But she just couldn't let them worry about her, especially not tonight as it was Octavia's. 

"That's good, Princess," Bellamy said. "I'm real proud of you to hear that you are out and about again." Clarke slightly cringed at that but neither of them seemed to notice. 

"We'll have to come visit you sometime, see that knew place of yours. Make sure your apartment is suitable for hot, crazy sex," Raven said with a laugh as she playfully punched Clarke's arm. Bellamy smiled at the joke his girlfriend made then started to look out into the distance, daydreaming about what exactly he would do with Raven in Clarke's home. 

Clarke's eyes went wide with that statement. Not the sex one. While it did gross her out slightly thinking about those two doing the do on her kitchen table and etc. it didn't bother her as much as the previous one. Her friends could not come over. She didn't invite anyone over, especially her friends and there were two reasons for that. First, she wanted to be alone. Plain and simple. She knew her friends would try to make her do things and be the person she was all those months ago, but she couldn't. Not without him. The second reason was that she knew her friends would tease her for everything in the fancy apartment; from the furniture to the dust floating in the air. While she could admit herself it was a little much, it was still her home. The last thing she wanted was it being picked apart by her friends. 

Raven noticed her shock and immediately began to backtrack, not wanting to scare off her timid friend. "Hey, hey, hey. I was just joking around. Bell and I will keep it in the bed the first time round." She put her hand on the blonde's shoulder to try to comfort her with both touch and humor. 

She thinks I'm surprised at the sex and not wanting to not invite them over. I gotta roll with this one. "Thanks, Raven. It's just that I had the horrible image of Bell's sweaty hairy balls and I just--" Clarke shudders in order to finish her sentence. 

Raven laughed while Bellamy looked slightly offended. "Hey, my balls are nothing but perfect. I scrub 'em and maintain 'em!" 

Raven had grabbed her drink from the bar and took a drink with a sarcastic 'mmm hmmm' towards him. 

Bellamy turned towards Raven and as they locked eyes, Raven just about spit out her drink from trying to stop her laughter at the sight of her boyfriend's expression. 

"Just whose side are you on?" He said in a way that was both joking and serious. 

"Yours Bumpkin, always yours," she said sarcastically as she ruffled his hair. 

He swatted her hand away lightly. "I'm not gonna sleep with for a week." 

"Please. You couldn’t last 2 days without me." 

Clarke shook her head and laughed at her friends. It wasn't a full laugh. But it was something. 

Raven and Bellamy laughed along with Clarke lightheartedly. Once they all stopped, it was quiet between them, but not awkward. 

"So, where's the birthday girl?" 

They gesture toward the crowd of people, and Clarke sees Octavia already dancing, taking up a small space of her own. She was spinning around in circles, pumping her arms into the air with the beat of the bass. Her head was rocking back and forth, side to side, causing her long hair to flying every direction. Clarke watched as her best friend showed the world how much of a dork she was, not giving a fuck what the world thought of her. 

Once the song ended, Octavia stood in the floor and put her hands on her hips, trying to catch her breathe before the next song began. She turned to look towards her brother and wave and when she saw that Clarke was standing next to them, she yelled "Claaaarke!" and ran as fast as she could, tackling the blonde to the ground. 

"I didn't think you'd actually show up. You were being so sketchy on the phone," Octavia says as she puts out a hand to help Clarke up from the ground. 

"Well, you were so convincing," Clarke heaved as she stood. "I don't take to kidnapping very well." 

"I know," the birthday girl says. "That's why I threatened it," spinning around she nearly falls over Raven, who's standing right behind her with a tray of shots. 

"Bottoms up!" Raven yells over the song now blasting over the room. 

The group of them all swallowed their shots with Clarke and Octavia squeezing their faces together as the alcohol burned going down their throats. Raven and Bellamy smiled at the two girls and how cute they were having not quite mastered taking shots like they can. Once she recognized the song that was playing over the speakers, Octavia grabbed Clarke's arm and pulled her into the giant mass of dancing bodies and started dancing her dorky dance. Clarke began to panic as she was pulled into the cluster; she didn’t want to be around a group of people nevermind being in the center of one. Her breathing started getting faster and faster, her heart was beating so hard she thought it was going to burst from her chest. 'It's just a slight panic attack Clarke', she thought to herself. 'You're gonna be ok, girl. Just breathe. Breathe. Breathe. You can do this. You've been in situations like this before and you can get out of it. Just concentrate on your friend. Do what she is doing. She's always been the best at this.' Clarke looked at Octavia as she was twisting and twirling. She began to copy her movements and in no time, the two girls were owning the dance floor. 

********************************************************************************************************************************** 

Clarke leaned back against the wall. The stool she sat on was too tall for her to reach the ground, leaving her feet dangling. Octavia leaned over the pool table concentrating hard before taking her final shot. She executed it perfectly, knocking the 8-ball into the corner pocket just as she called it. The guys who had bet against her for the table grumbled as they finished their drinks and walked away. She laughed as Clarke shook her head at her saying, "You are genuinely unnaturally good at that." 

Before Octavia could say anything, Raven and Bellamy joined them. Raven handed over more shots to everyone and Bellamy handed everyone a beer to chase with. As Raven hands Clarke her shot and turns away, she sets the shot down on the bar. She's been trying not to drink as much as late. Everyone is too busy taking their own shots to notice her just sipping at her beer. 

Bellamy popped the bottle cap on the side of the pool table leaving a scratch. "So, O... what would you like to do for your birthday this year?" He asks as he takes a drink, "Maybe something more creative than The Cull?" 

"Well, duh, Bellamy. This isn't my birthday party you know? It's my PRE-birthday party Bells. Try to keep up." 

"What about you, Clarke, you usually have it planned to a T by the time it gets this close?" Bellamy asks and she just notices Raven give him a nudge in the ribs for it. 

Clarke clears her throat to give her time to come up with an answer. Truth be told she'd completely forgot what month it was so planning Octavia's birthday extravaganza as usual just slipped by her completely. "She never gave me a theme when I asked her forever ago." 

"Oh my god, Clarke, that was literally five months ago when you asked me that. There's no way I was going to be able to give you an answer," Octavia mock glares at the blonde until she can't hold the stare without giggling. Clarke laughs too; she can't help but notice the effects of the alcohol creeping through her bloodstream. 

"But no worries, I know exactly what I want to do," Octavia stands up straighter as if she's about to deliver a grand speech. The look on her face makes Clarke almost regret deciding to come out tonight knowing that whatever is about to come out of her friend's mouth is going to be the exact thing she's been avoiding for months. She's comforted by the heavy sigh coming from Bellamy as he takes another chug from his bottle. Everyone knows he's going to catch the tail end of this plan no matter what it is. Clarke knows she has an ally. 

"Is this what you were talking about earlier?" Raven asks excitedly. 

"What? When?" Bellamy looks down at his girlfriend incredulously, the look of utter betrayal written across his brow. 

"No, I just saw something tonight that's even better!" Octavia grows more excited to the disappointment of Raven. 

"But laser tag sounded so fun," Raven says as she finishes her drink, pouting slightly. 

"Yeah, let's do laser tag," Bellamy agrees. 

Clarke nods her head in agreement, "Laser tag sounds great." I could easily hide in the corner away from everyone. 

"You guys, where's your imagination, really?" Octavia says. She sighs, knowing that her brother will not like this idea. "No, I saw a poster tonight for a carnival com--" 

"No, no, absolutely not, no," Bellamy interrupts his sister, anger and horror playing across his face. 

Octavia beams at her brother, "It's my birthday Bell, we're definitely going! It'll be so--" 

"O, we are not going to a carnival, I don't care who's birthday it is," Bellamy literally puts his foot down as he steps closer to Octavia. 

His reaction only makes her smile more but before she can say anything Raven interrupts, "Why can't we go to the carnival?" 

Octavia's eyes widened and her smile grew even wider as she turned her head back to her brother. "Oh my god, she doesn't know?" She quickly turned her head back to Raven. "You seriously don't know?" 

"Know what?" 

"O, don't you dare." 

Octavia gasped with excitement. "Raven, Bell is absolutely terrified of--" 

Before she could finish, a giant hand slapped across her mouth and was held there preventing her from finishing the sentence. She tried to pry the hand away but Bellamy used his strong arms to pull both her hands away. Octavia began to lick Bell's hand in hopes that he would move it away from her but he held it in place. 

"Nice try, O. But that trick only worked on you as I recall. But seriously, you should knock it off. I don't know where that hand has been." 

Octavia tried to say something but was muffled by her brother's hand so no one knew what she said. But knowing Octavia, it was probably some type of sexual comeback.

Clarke moved toward them to save her friend from her brother's onslaught, but hesitated. 'Should I help her? Or should I let Bellamy stop her from making her birthday into a night of hell for me?' Clarke's moment of thought was finished by Raven stepping around her and pulling at Bellamy's arm. 

"Bellamy I swear to God, what is wrong with you?" 

"Everything. He's Bellamy Blake, for Christ's sake," Clarke said, gesturing at him with both her hands. 

"Well, you're not wrong," Raven laughs at Bellamy's brow furrowed in anger. 

Octavia managed to pull away her brother's sweaty and slobbery hand and yelled out, "Bellamy is afraid of clowns!" 

Raven and Clarke both raised their eyebrows in surprise while Bellamy closed his eyes in defeat, knowing his 'friends' would never let him live this down. Octavia was smiling from ear to ear, so proud of the fact that she revealed her older sibling's great fear. 

"Seriously? Clowns? But they are just so--" 

"Funny, yeah, I know, Raven! Everyone says that but have you considered the fact that they are also terrifying! Grown men wearing face paint, chasing after you while laughing their creepy laugh, how do people find them so fucking entertaining?!" Bellamy let go of his sister and was gesturing his arms around. A couple of bystanders looked over at the crazy man yelling about clowns; they grabbed their drinks and shuffled away. 

"Because they throw pies at each other? How can you not like that?" Raven asked. 

"Pies that are probably poisoned," Bellamy mumbled. 

Octavia walks around the table, racking up the balls in the plastic triangle. She stares down her brother knowing she's going to win this argument. She looks at Clarke for reassurance and sees her friend's worried face. "Clarke, don't you want to take Bellamy to see the clowns?" 

Clarke can feel all their eyes on her. Beads of sweat started to form around her eyes and she couldn't tell if it was from the heat of the room or the sudden nervousness from the look in Octavia's eyes. She takes a breath, "Why don't we just party at your place? Do pizza, get some drinks? We can play Drunk Capture the Flag in your backyard." She said the words so quickly that they sounded bad even to herself. The look of utter confusion on Octavia's and Raven's faces weren't impressed. 

"Or...We could go to the carnival?" Octavia's voice is twice as high as usual as she says, "Are you serious, Clarke?" 

"I don't know, I like Clarke's idea. It'll be just us and we can get Monty to send us some Moonshine. We can even go into the woods for Drunk Capture the Flag instead of keeping it the yard," Bellamy suggests. 

"I agree with Octavia. The carnival sounds fun," Raven piped up. 

"What?!" Both Bellamy and Clarke turned and shrieked the in unison at the darker haired girl. 

"I said, 'I agree with Octavia. The carnival sounds awesome.'" 

"Actually you said 'The carnival sounds fun'. But awesome works in this situation too," Octavia said matter of factly. 

Clarke tries not to openly glare at the other two girls as she takes in the situation. She'd hoped Bellamy would have somehow talked them out of it, but he's losing quickly; although, she can't blame him for folding under pressure from his girlfriend and his sister. 

"We could just hire a clown to come to the house." 

"Clarke, I'm twenty-two, not five," Octavia with her hands on her hips, squinting her eyes at her 

"Well, I just don't see how we have to go when we can scare Bellamy with a clown at home and have an awesome game of Capture the Flag, if that's the only reason you wanted to go?" Clarke says and finishes her drink. 

"Clarke, sweetie, it's a fucking carnival. There are more than just clowns there. Therefore, more things to do." 

"I just don’t want to fucking go, ok!" Clarke finally shouted at her friends. 

Octavia nods in an understanding way, "I know you don't want to go, but it's not like you'll be there just wandering around for kicks Clarke, you'll be there with us." 

Clarke takes in a deep breath, exhausted, "O, I want to be with you on your birthday, but I don't know if I can handle that kind of a crowd." 

"It's been almost six months since--" 

"O, I know how long it's been. That has nothing to do with this," Clarke said in a low voice. "Crowds have never been my forte and you know that." 

"Either way, I still like laser tag," Bellamy says moving closer to Clarke throwing his arm over her shoulder in a show of support. 

"You know what, if you guys are going to team up, we'll play for it," Octavia said with a smirk. 

"What do you mean?" Raven said, joining Octavia's side of the pool table while Clarke and Bellamy stood on the other side. 

"I mean, let's make a bet. Since we are split 50/50 on what we should do for MY birthday, we should play a game of pool. If we win," Octavia gestures to herself and Raven, "then we all go the carnival with you guys paying for the food and drinks. If you guys win, then y'all get to choose what we do for, once again, MY birthday." 

"You're on!" Bellamy says as he chugs his drink and shakes her hand. 

Clarke looks up at him in horror, "Bell, are you crazy? How the hell do you plan on beating O? She's pretty much a professional and you're drunk." 

"Are you forgetting who trained her in the first place? Quit your worrying, Princess, and grab a cue. We are gonna kick their asses!" 

Octavia holds her hand out to the blonde with a devilish grin as Clarke sighs and shakes, knowing she's sealed her fate. 'I swear to God, Bellamy, if we lose, it's your ass that is gonna be kicked.'


	2. Welcome to Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to see a clown show and Clarke makes a new friend

The road grew more narrow as they reached the outskirts of the city and the trees began to thicken on each side. Clarke sat in the front passenger seat of Octavia's car and turned back around glaring at Bellamy who sat behind the driver, Octavia. Bellamy shifted uncomfortably in his seat as she kept staring at him, crossing his arms defensively. 

"What?," he eventually asked the blonde, kinda annoyed at her for staring at him 

"This," Clarke gestures her hand wildly toward the windshield, "is all your fault!"Bellamy tossed his arms in the air and threw his head back. "Oh my god Clarke, how is this my fault?" 

"How?! How is it your fault? Seriously?," Clarke practically shouted in the car. Both Raven and Octavia tried to stifle their laughter at Clarke's outburst. Clarke then changed her face to look like she was drunk and deepened her voice as low as she could. "Clarke... Princess Baby... don'tya worry 'bout a single thing." Clarke shook her whole body imitating a hiccup, "I am the masta at billardssss. Nuttin' is gon'a go wong. Yous and me are gon'a kick their asses." 

Raven bursts out laughing at Clarke's impression. "That's pretty good there, Griffin. 8.5 outta 10." 

"Thanks, Reyes," she replied with a hint of laughter, still a annoyed at Bellamy for getting so drunk that it made them lose the game. 

"We were on a team so that means that you have to take half the blame, Princess." 

Clarke undoes her seatbelt about to crawl into the back. Octavia reaches over and grabs her shirt pulling the blonde back into her seat, "Whoa there, let's not kill anyone before my party's over, okay?" in both a joking and serious voice. 

"I just wanted to punch him once... or five times." Clarke grumbles as she refastens her belt. 

"If it means anything, Bell, I thought you played a marvelous game." Octavia said beaming into the rearview mirror at her brother. 

In retaliation to Octavia's smugness, Clarke quickly punches Octavia in the thigh, causing the car to swerve into the other lane slightly. Lucky for them, there was no one in the other lane. 

"Hey what the fuck Princess, don't hit my sister while she's fucking driving. Are you trying to kill us?" Bellamy barked. He reached forward to grab the blonde, but Raven grabs his arm. 

"Hey, hey, okay let's all just settle down. We have to almost be there by now," Raven says as she hugs his arm. "Turn on some tunes, O." 

The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes as the songs blasted through the car. Clarke rested her head on the window as she looked at the landscape flying by. She noticed that the trees were starting to thin out and the scenery eventually changed to wide, open fields with Lake Firefly in the distance; although, it was nearly impossible to see through all the tents and carnival rides. 

Clarke and Bellamy both slightly groan at the sight of the carnival while Octavia starts to do a little dance in her seat. "It's okay guys. We are only gonna be here for the whole entire day." 

"Don't remind me, O." Bellamy grumbles. 

They pass a sign that says "WELCOME TO WONDERLAND. PARKING NEXT LEFT." The words were outlined with multicolored bulbs that flashed on and off. 

"Wonderland? Seriously?" Raven asks out loud, not really expecting an answer from anyone else in the car. 

Octavia pulls into the parking lot and spends what Clarke believes to be hours finding a spot to park the car. As Octavia drives down each lane, Clarke sees just how many cars there are. 'Oh god, there are so many people here,' she thinks as her breathing begins to quicken. She felt her palms get all sweaty and wiped them on her shorts. 'OK, Clarke, you gotta calm yourself down now. You cannot have a panic attack in the car right next to your best friend. Just take deep breaths' She closes her eyes and tries to control her breathing. Taking a long deep breath as quietly as possible through her nose, she holds the air for a few seconds and releases it at a steady rate. She repeats this as she grips her seatbelt at her waist. 

Octavia sees out of the corner of her eye that Clarke is managing her breathing. 'I know this is hard for you, Clarke,' Octavia thinks to herself. 'But it's time to move forward and coming out to these kinds of things is only good for you. It has to be.' 

"THERE!" Raven jumps out of her seat and shouts out over the music, leaning in between the two front seats to point out open spot. The sudden shout jolts Octavia back into reality and just on instinct, she quickly turns into the open spot causing Bellamy to slam against the window with Raven slamming into his side, sandwiching him in between the door and his girlfriend. 

"What the hell, Octavia? A little slower next time?" Bellamy says to his sister as he rubs the side of his head that hit the window. 

"Get over it, Bell, it didn't kill you," Octavia says over her shoulder as she turns the car off and taking off her own seatbelt. Bellamy and Raven open their doors and slide out leaving Octavia and Clarke alone in the car for a moment. She reaches over grabbing Clarke's hand with one of her own soothing the white out of her friend's knuckles while unbuckling and pulling the seat belt away from the blonde's grip. Clarke looks up at Octavia who gives her a small smile and rubs her thumb over her knuckles in a reassuring way. Clarke takes a deep breath and lets it out, returning the smile and nodding her head. 

"Alrighty then," Octavia says, pulling down her sunglasses. "Let's go ride the Gravitron 'til we puke." 

Clarke laughs, pulling down her own aviators and steps out of the car. 

 

***************************************************************************************** 

"It doesn't start for another ten minutes, O, why are we in line?" Bellamy asks. "There's literally not even another person here yet, we're the first ones." 

"Exactly, I want the best seats for my big brother, since he loves clowns and all," Octavia smiles and sips her soda, stepping behind Clarke so she stands between her and her brother in case he decides to knock her in the shoulder. 

Clarke took a step backwards so she wasn’t in the middle of the siblings. 

"Hey," Octavia said to her as she grabbed hold of her arm keeping her from going too far. 

"You are supposed to be my bodyguard." 

"Why do you need a bodyguard? You are tough and can handle yourself," the blonde replied, poking Octavia's non existent muscles in her arm. 

"I'm his sister and you're not. He won't hit you for that reason." 

"Wanna bet?" Bellamy asks, deadpanned. 

"I would love to see you try, Bell," Raven says with a smirk. "I would be rooting for you the entire time, babe." She reaches up and gives him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Hey!" Clarke and Octavia said at the same time. 

"You're supposed to be on our side, Raven," Clarke said. 

"Yeah, ho's over bro's. Where were you for that lesson?" Octavia asked. 

"Probably riding your brother's dick." 

"Oh, gross, Raven!" Octavia shouted at the dark haired girl. She covered her ears with hands and yelled out "I don’t want to hear about your guys' sex life! Can we not?" 

"Oh, but it's just so good. The way he grabs me when he-" 

"Lalalalalalala I cant hear you. Lalalalalala" 

"C'mon, Raven. It's her birthday. There is no need to torment the poor child," Clarke said, as she wrapped her arms around O in order to console her. 

"You guys are torturing me though by dragging me to the damn clown show!" Bellamy gestured to the giant tent in front of them. 

"No one gives a shit about that, Bell, sorry." Octavia says. 

"Yeah, when it's your birthday, you can drag your sister to some dumb thing and force her to participate," Clarke says. 

Octavia turned her head at her best friend with a shocked expression. "Don't promise him that!" 

"Too late, she already did," Bellamy said with a smile, looking off into the distance already planning his revenge. 

Octavia squinted her eyes in fake anger at Clarke. "I hate you." 

"I love you, too, O." She gives the birthday girl a quick kiss on the cheek. 

More people have begun to line up behind them when a tiny man in makeup comes and opens the clip to enter the tent. Octavia grabs Clarke by the wrist excitedly and races toward the front of the bleachers to get as close to the circle as possible. Bellamy slowly approaches the tent, trying his best to stay as far away as possible from the small clown. 

"Get a move on you big baby," Raven tell him as she shoves his back hard enough to trip and almost fall to the ground. He turns back to glare her as she just smiles back at him. 

Octavia finds the best seats available and pulls Clarke down right next to her making the blonde practically fall on top of the darker haired girl. 

"Holy crap, O. Calm down. Making me break my arm will not make the show start any faster." 

"You're fine," Octavia said, not really paying attention and waving her friend off. 

Raven takes a seat next to Octavia pulling Bellamy down beside her. "This is so exciting, O, best idea ever. Look at his face! I've never seen him like this before." 

"Just wait until the show starts." 

Bellamy turns to glare at his sister, but his face was so pale that the threat only made the girl laugh harder. 

People began filing into the tent and the murmur of the crowd hummed in Clarke's ears. She looped her arm through Octavia's, scooting closer to her and distancing herself from the kids now sitting on the other side of her with their parents. 

She's relieved when the overhead lights began to dim and the crowd began to shush one another. The band began playing a fast drum beat to build the suspense. Spot lights began to move all around the arena as the announcer's voice boomed throughout, "Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls of all ages! It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first opening act of the Wonderland Carnival!" The ringmaster stepped into the middle of the arena as the band hit the climax note and the lights stopped on the man. The audience applauds and whistles, right in Clarke's ear which she found to be a little annoying. The man was in tight black pants, a golden shirt with a red bow, and a red velvet tailcoat. He had a big beard and spiral tattoo that goes around his right temple and across his eye. He had dreadlocks that come down the back and right side of his head, the left side was shaved. 

"I am Ringmaster Nyko, and my job here today is to give you a show that will amaze you in all ways imaginable!" 

Clarke glances at Bellamy thinking she should've tried harder to win that game of pool. His fists were clenched over his knees and he was bent slightly forward. Raven and Octavia aren't even paying attention to Clarke or Bellamy, they are concentrating on the ringmaster instead. 

"He's an odd looking fellow," Raven said to her friend. "What, with the beard and face tattoo and the dreads, he's kind of a scary guy to be a welcoming ringleader." 

"Eh," Octavia replied with a shrug of the shoulders. "I dig it. He looks pretty cool." 

"What do you think, Clarke?" Raven leans over Octavia with a look of confidence that Clarke will agree. 

"Umm, he looks...fine I guess." 

Octavia nods her head, "See, Clarke has good taste, so I can trust her." 

"Whatever, you guys are weird." Raven huffs a sigh and shakes her head at them. 

Clarke stares at the Ringmaster. His dirty face smiling and his hands waving toward different clowns entering the ring and doing tricks, gave her a chill. The sudden memory of Finn standing over her that Halloween laughing and throwing candy around the room like a child came to her... 

...He wanted to be a pirate and she helped him fix his hair in dreadlocks and paint his face to look dirty. It was her freshman year at college and he'd driven up even though she told him he didn't have to. 

"I haven't missed a year of dressing up with you basically my whole life, Princess, you think just because you moved away that's gonna change?" he said throwing her mom's old medical bag she uses to collect candy at her. 

"Okay, but I haven't gotten anything to dress up in, Finn. Does it look I was going out tonight?" She gestured around the room where she had a canvas laid on the ground, multiple references of the Butterfly Nebula, and multiple colors of pastels scattered nearby. She then raised her arms to show the smudges of pastel all over her forearms, palms, and even part of her face. 

He looked her up and down and nodded, "You could go like that though, to be honest, Clarke, you look like a crazy person." 

She glared at him and began moving around some of the pastels so they wouldn't get misplaced or stepped on. She turned back around to find him holding a pirate costume out to her, an outfit to match his own. 

"It's a good thing I brought you one too then, Princess." 

Clarke snapped out of her day dream when she felt Octavia suddenly move beside her. She looked over to see her and Raven pushing Bellamy into the aisle. 

"Guys, no, knock it off, stop--" Bellamy whispered harshly at the two girls before falling into the arms of clown standing near them. 

"What are you guys doing?!" Clark asked as she smacked Octavia in the chest with the back of her hand. 

"Weren't you paying attention?" Octavia said while she rubbed the spot that Clarke hit. 

"They were asking for a volunteer to go up with the clowns to participate in the act. So, naturally, we volunteered Bell," Raven explained with a devilish smile on her face. 

Clarke sighed and put her head in her hands "You guys are so mean." 

"Yeah." 

"We know" 

Bellamy looked up at the clowns smiling face and went frozen with fear. The clown, not getting the man's fear or just ignoring it, grabbed his wrist and held it into the air. 

"And it looks like we have a volunteer!" The Ringmaster points at the clown and Bellamy. Bell got out of his daze and started to shake his head no at the clown. Once again, the clown didn’t notice or just ignored him, and pulled him down into the ring. 

The crowd clapped as he stepped over the ring into the arena. The kids next to Clarke excitedly toss their hands around, throwing popcorn from their bags as they do. 

"Poor guy. He looks terrified," Clarke said, flicking popcorn off of her and leaning her elbows on her knees and hands supporting her head. 

"I know it's hilarious!" Octavia said with a cackle. 

"So what's your name, fine gentleman?" Nyko asked Bellamy as he clasped his giant hand on Bell's shoulder. 

"Uh, um... B-B-Bellamy." His face grew paler during the walk to the middle of the ring. 

"Well, Bellamy, you seem a little shaken up here, friend. You're not gonna pass out on me are you?" 

The crowd laughed the joke. Bellamy slowly shook his head. Clarke could see him gulp from where she sat. 

"Oh my god, it looks like he's gonna throw up," Raven said in a sympathetic voice. 

"Well, Bellamy. I hope you're ready," Nyko smacked him on the back twice then turned to the crowd. "Audience! I hope you are ready! Let's give a warm welcome to our clowns and our volunteer Bellamy!" 

The audience burst into cheers and applause as three more clowns came from behind the seats, waving at the kids and skipping around. Bellamy's eyes went wide at the sight of more clowns. His breathing became deeper and deeper with every passing second. 

"Raven..." Clarke said, still looking at the panicked Bellamy. 

The clowns started to make their way towards him 

"What's up?" 

Clarke could see a small sheet of sweat appear at Bell's forehead. The clowns were almost there and they began to lift their arms to reach for him 

"I think you were right in your assumption." 

Both Raven and Octavia, in unison, raised their eyebrows in shock and said "Oh no." just as Bellamy threw up directly on the clown standing in front of him. 

****************************************************************************************

"I cant believe you did that!" Octavia said in between her laughter for the thousandth time in the past half hour. 

The four of them were sitting on a bench in the food court. They decided that a little fresh air would be good for Bellamy. Also the distance from the clown tent was just as beneficial. Bellamy was halfway done with his second bottle of water. 

"Well, it happened. It's in the past and there's nothing that can be done about it so could you just fucking drop it already?" Bellamy shouted at his annoying brat of a sister. 

"What do you mean there's nothing that can be done?" Octavia said, shoving a handful of fries into her mouth. "We can continue to make fun of you." 

Bellamy smacked his head down in defeat against the table with a thud. 

"Leave the poor guy alone, Octavia," Clarke said, looking at her friend sat next to her, taking a sip of her soda through a straw. 

"Yeah, O, he's been through a lot today. Give him a break," Raven said rubbing his back. 

Octavia throws her handful of fries down on her plate, "Well, fine, take the fun out of it guys." 

Clarke smiled at her friend "You can only have so much of it, O." 

"Pfft, says you." Octavia replied, trying to hold back a smile and failing. 

Clarke takes everyone's empty plates and throws them in the trash nearby. Sitting down, she sees Raven going over the show schedules. Bellamy looks at it over her shoulder with fear in his eyes, hoping Octavia doesn't suggest anything else. 

"Hey, weren't we wanting to go to this knife throwing thing? That starts soon." Raven nudges Octavia for approval. 

"Yeah, we were gonna do that. Bell, you up for knives? I don't think there will be any clowns there." 

Her brother nods slowly in agreement, "That sounds like fun." 

"Actually, I was thinking of going to find a place to do some sketches." Clarke says looking at Octavia for her blessing. 

Her friend nods and says, "Yeah that's a good idea. We can meet you later." 

"Ok then," Clarke said, grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. "I will see you guys later." She waved goodbye at friends and started to walk towards a secluded area she saw earlier. 

It was just a small hill in a wide open field that was used by people to play games like Frisbee or football. It wasn't too bad of a climb but with the sun beating down on her it felt more difficult than she originally thought. When she made it up she ungracefully fell to the ground and pulled out some water. "I am so no physically able to do this," she huffed to herself. Clarke took a moment to catch her breathe before she pulled out a sketchbook and a pencil and began to draw the landscape of the carnival she saw from above. There weren't many people around her so the only sound she was really hearing was the occasional screaming from a ride and the mechanical noises with them. Up on the grassy hill, there were a few people nearby, some passing a ball back and forth, others just coming up for a nap, and there were even some couples who were enjoying a nice stroll through the park. Seeing one couple walk by reminded her of her daydream from earlier... 

...Finn sat on her bed, waiting on her to come out of the restroom in costume. She looked like a pirate that was supposed to be sexy, but hadn't bathed or seen civilization in a few years; a true pirate, she thought. She strutted into the bedroom and Finn stood up, applauding, "Yes, this is my pirate princess. This is exactly what I was going for when I got these outfits." 

"I'm a pirate, Finn. Also we don't have time for me to get the charcoal off so I just added more." 

"I just said I loved it," he said following the blonde into the living room and grabbing coats as they walk out the door. "Where are we going by the way?" 

"Well, if you want to go out, the only thing I know to go to is a thing at the studio." 

"The art studio? C'mon, Clarke, don't you know anywhere else?" 

As they enter the parking lot, she takes the keys from his hand at his side and walks around to the driver's side. He doesn't even look up as he gets in the passenger seat. 

"It's not an art thing, it's supposed to be a party," she says indignantly. "And they'll be more than just the art majors there, they just set it up." 

Finn looks at her questioningly. He turns on the radio and nods his head, "Okay, Princess." 

"I swear!" 

"I said, 'Okay.'" 

They sang the rest of the car ride, and were laughing by the time they arrived at the studio. Clarke was glad he surprised her and she had someone to come out with. The studio windows showed a lot of guests with flashing lights and thumping music. 

"Wow. You art majors know how to throw a party" 

"Well, we are very creative people," Clarke said with a grin. 

"Quite beautiful, too." Finn looked down at Clarke as she blushed at his comment. She stopped then, holding onto his hand to hold him back as well. 

"Hey... is everything ok, baby?" Finn said sincerely. 

Clarke looked up at him with tears building in her eyes. "I'm just really happy that you drove all this way just to spend our stupid Halloween tradition together. It means a lot to me." Clarke sniffled a little at the end. 

"I would do anything for you, Clarke." He reached up with his hand and cupped her face in it. "I love you." 

She smiled back at him before saying, "I love you, too" 

Finn then leaned down and gave Clarke a kiss. He moved his lips against hers and she returned the kiss. She slid her arms around his back to pull him closer. The two of them tilted their heads to get a better angle as Clarke slid her tongue against his lips asking for permission to enter his mouth. Much to her dismay, he pulled back. 

Clarke tried to give the best pouty face she could to get Finn to make out with her again. 

Finn chuckled at the expression. "I don’t think its really polite to make out with your girlfriend on the front door of a party." 

"To hell with those social norms." 

Finn leaned down again but this time kissing Clarke's forehead. 

"Later. I promise. And with so much more," he said with a wink turning to enter the studio. Clarke gleamed at the idea of what was to come. 

Walking through the door, Clarke is greeted by the familiar smell of paint. There's so many people crowded into the small room she would barely recognize it otherwise. Taking two steps in, a girl falls into her drunkenly "Hi thanks for catching me there. I'm Raven." 

She helps steadies the girl, "Hi, I'm-- 

Clarke is pulled out of her reverie. She felt her bag move beside her and looking to where she put it, it was gone. She quickly looked around her to see if she might have placed it elsewhere but she couldn’t find it. She began to look around at the other people around her to see if they had seen it nearby when she saw someone in a jean jacket and red baseball cap walking away from her at a quick pace, clutching something to their chest. 

"Hey!" Clarke called out trying to get Jean Jacket's attention. The person paused mid step but kept on walking away, a little faster. 

"Hey!" Clarke yelled again, standing up. "Guy in the jean jacket! Wait a second." 

The person glanced behind them and when they made eye contact with Clarke, they took off running. 

"Hey! Stop!" Clarke said as she began chasing the thief. The dude was a fast runner, but lucky for Clarke, she had worn the proper attire and was able to keep a pretty close distance but not really gain on him. 

"Someone stop him! He has my stuff!" Clarke yelled out to upcoming pedestrians. Most just froze as some crazy lady yelled words at them as she ran by. Others reacted too late and were not fast enough to make a difference. Jean Jacket was beginning to lead the chase back into the carnival crowds where she had a good chance of losing him. 

"He has my bag! Someone stop him for fucks sake!" 

All of a sudden a giant brown mass came out of nowhere and tackled Jean Jacket to the ground with a hard thud. Clarke caught up, completely out of breath. 

"Oh my god... thank you... so much...you're... a lifesaver..." Clarke says in between gasps of air. 

The large man stood up and pulled Jean Jacket up with him who was practically unconscious. 

"No problem, ma'am. Heard some commotion and thought it would be best to intervene on the situation," said the man as he handed back Clarke's bag. "I think this belongs to you." 

"Thanks." When she got bag back safely in her arms, she began to take in the tall, burly man. He was tall enough that Clarke had to slightly raise her head to look him in the eye. He had a shaved head, with trimmed facial hair around his face. She could see a tattoo behind his right ear but couldn't get a real good look at it. She did notice the tattoos on his arms though that were visible thanks to the tight dark green t-shirt he was hearing. On his left arm, Clarke saw that he had a multitude of lines, each with a different set of thickness wrapped around his bicep. On the other side, he had tattoos that started at the shoulder and came down to a point about halfway to the elbow. He was wearing cargo jeans and a utility belt with an assortment of tools. Clarke realizing she has been staring a little too long decided that she might as well introduce herself. 

She swung her back over his shoulder and held out a hand. "Hi. My name is Clarke." 

The man looked at her hand and with the hand that wasn't holding up the limp Jean Jacket, grasped her hand and shook it a couple of times. "Lincoln Woods." 

"Lincoln," Clarke repeated to herself. "Well, thank you very much. This bag hold a lot of my supplies and it would just suck ass if he had gotten away with it all." Clarke laughed. 

"Can I ask what you're carrying inside there?" 

"Yeah, it's just a sketchbook with a couple different types of pencils and charcoal and stuff like that." 

"Oh, you're an artist?" Lincoln asked with slight enthusiasm. 

Clarke smiled with excitement. "Yeah. I draw a little here and there and sell them if I think they are good enough." 

"Wow, that's incredible. I've always enjoyed drawing pictures and everything like that. It's one of my favorite hobbies." 

"You wanna see some of my sketches?" Clarke asked him, gesturing to her bag. 

Lincoln nodded his head and moved closer to Clarke, dragging Jean Jacket with him. The dude was groaning a little and was barely standing up on his own. 

Clarke turned to her side to open her messenger bag and began to shuffle through her stuff. She began to panic slightly when she couldn't find it. "Shit." 

"Is everything ok, Clarke?" Lincoln asked in a worried voice. 

"Yeah, I think I just left it back on the hill when I started chasing this guy here." Clarke looked back to where she was, hoping she could suddenly adapt eagle eye vision and see if her book was still there. 

"Well, hey, if you want I can give this guy to someone else and walk back with you to check out your drawings?" Lincoln asked. 

Clarke smiled at his friendliness. She was thinking he was being a real friendly guy for just meeting her. "Yeah, that would be nice, Lincoln. Thanks." 

Lincoln nodded with a smile and turned around to talk on his radio to ask for assistance. A few minutes passed and a two other men who were wearing the same clothing came and took Jean Jacket away, probably to be held until the police arrived Clarke hoped. 

She walked back to where she dropped her sketchbook and pencils and picked them up. Flipping through the pages, she showed Lincoln some of her finished sketches. He really admired her sketches of people from different angles and the different types of media she used to draw; pencils, pens, charcoals. They talked about what their favorite subjects to draw are and with what. Clarke likes to use people using paint on a canvas while Lincoln likes to draw nature by using different types of pencils to shade. The two of them began to walk back to the carnival grounds so Lincoln could return to his job. 

Clarke's phone rang and Octavia's tired but excited voice on the other end wanted Clarke to meet her back at the car. She gathered her things and put them in her bag. She thanked. Lincoln again and he told her to come back tomorrow so he can show her a better spot to sketch from. 

"I can show you some of my drawings too, if you want," he gestured toward a tent in the distance. "When you get to the front booth where you buy your tickets, just tell the person there that I sent for you, and they should let you in with no problem. 

She nodded her head, "Yeah that'd be great. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." 

Waving goodbye to her new friend, she nearly ran back to Octavia's car. Her three friends were already sitting in the vehicle with the air conditioner going, cooling down. Clarke jumped into the passenger seat smiling. Raven was asleep on Bellamy's shoulder and he rested his head against hers, looking like he was about to follow her lead. 

"Not a bad day after all, huh, Clarke?" Octavia grins at the blonde. 

"No, it was the best," she grins back at her oldest friend as the girl puts the car into gear and pulls out of the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. This story doesnt really have a release schedule; I only write when I feel like it. But I have the next few chapters planned out pretty well so it shouldnt take too long to get the next chapter out

**Author's Note:**

> This is our first fic; please leave any comments down below where my girlfriend and I will read your thoughts and critiques. You can also visit my tumblr @SomewhatActiveSloth and my gf's @Coriraptor


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